I just started looking at 5th wheels, unfortunately our closest dealer is about 40 miles away so most of my research has been on-line for now.

What in the heck is an Outside shower or Garden shower?

Also any particular brands to stay away from? I prefer the smooth outside finish, I like the looks of the Keystones.

I want to keep pricing at 20k or lower for a used one, but newer than 2000 and probably at the 28-32ft range.

Any help would be appreciative, thanks in advance.

 

The outside shower is a small accessory door with a shower wand & hose, along with faucet for mixing water temp, and a small soap dish. Useful for showering ouside the camper to save graywater space, and to clean pets, muddy children, rinse off from swimming, etc. Handy, but sometimes spendy as an added accessory. My Terry has it, but I bought mine used with it already on.

 

Okay, that's what I thought it was pretty much with the exception of the gray water savings.

With the concern for gray water, why do these things come with Bath tubs?

 

Outside shower is just that, a short (usually coily) hose with a shower head on the end of it that attaches to a hot&cold faucet located on the OUTside of the unit.

Comes in handy for washing off feet, dogs, whatever you need to clean that you don't want to do inside.

Ashame you aren't from around here, Jack has a nice clean one for sale in the classifieds section:
https://www.dieseltruckresource.com/...ct=6716&cat=15

I would check www.rv.net for about 50 hours of bickering as to which ones are junk, which ones are worth their weight in gold, etc.

We looked for about 5 months before we bought ours (2004 Colorado 28BH)

It is very similar to the Keystone in that same bunk house model. Only difference would be that we have a bedroom slide in addition to the LR slide.

 

Oopps, I was late there.................

 

Well, a couple reasons:

1. Not everyone dry camps. In a campground with sewer and water hook-ups holding tank size isn't an issue.

2. Some people have small children who take bath instead of showers. For instance, my 3-yr old takes baths.

Our coach has an outside shower, and while camping at the beach its nice to rince off sandy hands, feet, etc.

 

Makes sense, didn't think about the dry camping. if you do "Dry camp" say 4-5 days what is the recommended tank sizes for 3 adults and 3 7yr olds?

 

You'll need to conserve water with a family that size no matter how large your tanks are. My coach has dual 40-gal grey water tanks, one for the galley sink and one for the shower/tub and lavatory sink. Without conserving I can fill the lavatory tank in 2 days. Conserving I can go 4-5 days. This is with a family of 3. For you I suggest you get one of those portable grey water totes or allow the grey water to "drip" a bit throughout the day. When we go out to the desert riding I'll just open the valves a hairy so we get a constant drip.

 

I think for the money, it is hard to beat a Mobil Scout/sunnybrook.
The higher end ones include Travel Supreme, Gand teton, Alfa. Some of these tend to be heavy and made of wood frame, not good for longterm.
Other Mid-level- Hitchhiker, NuWa, others
A good place to shop is pplmotorhomes.com . They sell only consignment, largest in the country. A 3-5 yr old rig will be 50-75% less than list, with often fewr problems. many are only used a few times, something hapens(husband dies), not what they thought, and you get a deal. The site has pics, prices, floor plans, descritions.
Have fun looking, do lots of research before you buy.

 

The outside shower also comes on handy to wash the motorcycle..

 

Public agencies (forest service, blm, state etc) prohibit dripping ANY type of waste water. If your gate valve is dripping, you can get an expensive citation, either on the road (most expensive) or in the forest.
Even if you are not seen by an official, I don't know of any camp neighbor (except the ignorant) who would tolerate that. The grey water has bits of food, and skin cells, that attracts Yellow Jackets, and wasps, as well as scavenger mammals, like coyotes and bears. At the least, it is rude, at the worst unsanitary. Fly borne disease comes to mind. Like Typhus. And PLEASE don't flame me with "no one is going to tell me how to behave in the woods, I been doin' that for 45 years..."
An acceptable alternative, is to run a hose (the drain cap has a hose fitting) downhill to a deep hole that you have filled with gravel (more work than the average camper will go to) with the hose tip buried in the bottom. This gets the water away from under the rig. It will prevent all of the problems except the issue of official notice. I have asked a Ranger to define the difference between my hose, and a tent camper throwing a dishpan full of soapy food carrying water out onto the ground. They can't do it.
I hunt in Northern Oregon. We spend an entire month out in the woods, and only drain the tanks once every two weeks. And that is the black water tank. Be selective, and prudent and you can extend how fast you fill the tanks.
The men use the woods, (using accepted sanitary methods) and we dump dishwater into a gravel pit. Since we camp in an abandoned gravel quarry and not a public campground, we have plenty of gravel to fill our pits, and to spread for the generator (a 15 foot area of absolutely no growing material or burnable material is required in the Forest). They will check, and they will issue tickets. Get belligerent, and they call the Sheriff.
I taught camp sanitation and field hygiene for 12 years, to military and Search and Rescue teams.

 

I have found this to be something of a non-needed accecesory.A standard RV practice is to get a brass Y connector to use on the water outlet; off one leg, run your RV, with the prsesure regulator attched to the Y. Off the other leg, attach a hose woth muti-head nozzle. This addresses many purposes, including washing bugs off the front in warm months. Further, the Y leg can be used to let thr prssue out of the system after you turn the water off. Simply disconnect the hose with the water off on the Y control, then turn the water back on at the Y control.
One other helpful suggestion, get water quick connects for your hoses and attachments. This will save a few minutes setting up & tearing down.
Happy camping!

 

I purchased a Keystone Copper Canyon Sprinter 297 FWBHS for about $22,000 new in July 2006. They are out there, just have to be patient and look. Didn't come with an outside shower, but was able to add one myself for less than $100. It is all aluminum frame and fiberglass exterior. It measures out at 32' It is more than enough for two growing boys, a lab, and my wife. Need anymore info or help, just ask.